Vol 1 - Support Services Ufs Ac Za - University of the Free State

manner by using the houses of the workers on theParadys Experimental Farm as their basis.A recent study 5 ranked the UFS fifth in thecountry in plant and animal sciences, in terms ofthe number of publications and citations in theEssential Science Indicators database of the Institutefor Scientific Information (ISI). Outputs producedby colleagues in Biology contributed substantiallyto this. Another report also indicated that theFaculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciencespublishes in top international journals, accreditedby the ISI, thereby promoting the name of the UFSas a research-oriented University.The Faculty’s research outputs continue toincrease. In 2006, 252 articles were published inaccredited journals. The output rose to 275 in 2007– an average increase of 1%, which may beattributed to the commitment of the Faculty’sresearchers.Various staff members of the Faculty wereelected to serve on national committees andcouncils. Prof Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean of theFaculty, was appointed by the National Minister ofAgriculture to the Land Bank Board and to theNational Agricultural Marketing Council. Prof KobusLaubscher, Department of Agricultural Economics,was appointed as chairperson of the NationalProductivity Institute’s Social Plan and ProductivityCouncil, and Ms Sheila Vrahimis of the Departmentof Geography was appointed to the Free State’sGeographic Name Giving Committee.The Vice-Dean, Prof Neil Heideman, wasawarded the Fulbright Senior Researcher Fellowshipto visit the laboratory of Prof Jack Sites, a fellowherpetologist at Brigham Young University, Utah inthe United States of America for six months. ProfJan van der Westhuizen and Dr Susan Bonnet of theDepartment of Chemistry, together with staffmembers from FARMOVS-PAREXEL received theNational Science and Technology Forum’s (NSTF)innovation award for their outstanding contributionto science, engineering and technology over thelast ten years. Prof Maryke Labuschagne of theDepartment of Plant Sciences received the NSTFaward for the development of research capacityover the past ten years. This was for her successfulmentoring of black students and researchers.5 Source: http://www.be.up.co.za/images/documents/BEatUP-news-APouris-HighEducation.pdf106